On the Eve of War

In outer space.

Through a three-dimensional projection, Thanos watched the Black Order overwhelm the Asgardians on that planet.

But instead of looking pleased, his expression grew grave.

These were only ordinary Asgardians, yet each was four or five times stronger than a Black Order warrior.

Before dying, each one took more than a dozen Black Order Warriors with them.

This war might be harder than he had expected.

Now that he knew how strong ordinary Asgardians were, he shut off the projection and continued training with the Mind Stone in his hand.

After more than a year of training, he could fully withstand the Mind Stone's backlash. He could now use its power without any side effects.

As a mutated Eternal Titan, his body had astonishing potential.

Apart from his relatively weak mental strength, he had virtually no shortcomings.

The Avengers films made that clear.

In the third Avengers film, Mantis had managed to control Thanos. If Star-Lord hadn't punched him awake, there might never have been a fourth film.

But with the Mind Stone, his mental strength was growing rapidly. That weakness was disappearing too.

Meanwhile, Ebony Maw saw how powerful the Asgardians were and entered the fight himself.

He was considerably stronger now than he had been in the films.

With a simple gesture, he split the ground open and swallowed several Asgardian Warriors who had resisted.

Once he joined the battle, all resistance on the planet was soon wiped out.

Asgardians or natives, it made no difference. Anyone who resisted was killed without mercy.

When the killing was over, Ebony Maw arranged for resource ships to come and begin extraction.

Iron ore, copper ore, silver ore, and more.

If they wanted to expand across the Milky Way for the long term, they could not haul every resource from their own planets.

Using local resources would greatly cut travel time and consumption.

At the same time.

At the center of the Milky Way.

There was a remarkable continent.

Yes, a continent, not a planet.

The Asgardians had created it to indulge their extravagance and display their power.

They had blown a planet flat, then used magic and advanced technology to turn it into a level continent.

It was called the Asgard Continent.

The Asgard Continent covered around two hundred million square kilometers. Besides Asgard City, its largest city, it had eight satellite cities.

Those eight cities represented the eight great races besides the Asgardians, as well as Odin's achievement in ruling the Nine Realms.

At that moment, Odin was enjoying his usual pleasures in the temple.

A group of beautiful women surrounded him. Some peeled fruit for him, while others served him wine.

Before him, a group of dancers in revealing clothes moved gracefully.

When the mood struck, Odin would pull someone beside him, or one of the dancers, into all manner of intimate entertainment.

Those around him took it for granted. Many of the women even wanted to join in.

After all, winning Odin's favor would give them something to boast about wherever they went.

If one of them became pregnant, she might even rise to the very top.

Unfortunately, bearing Odin's child was no easy thing.

And even if a woman conceived, she would have to survive before she could enjoy her new status.

Odin's lawful wife, Queen Frigga, was no ordinary woman. She was a powerful witch.

For Odin, life could hardly have been better.

And he had every reason to be proud.

The Asgardians had once been the dominant power in the Milky Way, but they had not ruled it completely.

When he inherited power from his father, Asgard's influence had been in steady decline.

Humans, Dwarves, Dark Elves, and Frost Giants had all been formidable rivals.

Through schemes and deception, he had bound the Dwarves to forge for them generation after generation.

Then he sealed away humanity's ancestors, drove out the Dark Elves, and conquered the Frost Giants.

From then on, he ruled the Nine Realms and became master of the Milky Way.

The Milky Way held more than two hundred billion stars, but only a little over a hundred million had planets suitable for life. Fewer still had produced intelligent life.

Odin had never counted the exact number.

But planets without intelligent life, or with weak inhabitants, were not worth his attention. He only had to send collectors every few years; they had no power to resist.

If a planet showed signs of growing stronger, he crushed it early.

That was why rebellions kept breaking out.

Before Odin took control of the Milky Way, only nine factions within it had developed enough to venture into space.

That was where the claim of ruling the Nine Realms came from.

Unite those nine factions, and the Milky Way was yours.

Yet even at the height of his life, Odin was not entirely free of worries.

Loki, whom he had originally kept as a hostage, had somehow learned the truth of his birth and seemed close to rebelling.

So Odin had used Thor to cast him into a wormhole, removing the threat.

But that had also stirred thoughts of rebellion among the Frost Giants, who had been quiet for so long.

Laufey in particular seemed to have been busy lately.

Odin was considering whether to use the Bifrost to destroy the Frost Giants when an Asgardian Warrior hurried in.

"God King, the resource collection team has sent word."

Odin's attention returned at once.

Still looking languid, he ate a piece of fruit offered by a woman beside him and asked, "What is it?"

He had ruled the Milky Way for over a thousand years. So long a life of comfort had dulled his vigilance.

Whenever he heard that something had happened, he assumed some natives had rebelled again.

With Thor at his disposal, he felt no urgency.

The thought of his son left him helplessly frustrated.

Thor was strong enough, but he was not particularly bright. He had inherited none of Odin's cunning.

The Warrior reporting to him had no idea that his God King's mind had wandered. He said anxiously, "The thirty-seventh squad went to Lingxi Planet to collect resources, but we suddenly lost contact with them."

Odin dismissed the report. "Another superpowered native has probably appeared. Send Thor."

As far as he was concerned, anything not reported by Heimdall was a minor matter, hardly worth interrupting his pleasures.

Seeing this, the Warrior nodded helplessly and prepared to leave.

But just then, a two-meter-tall Black man with catlike eyes strode in.

He was Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost and Odin's most important eyes on the Milky Way.